Boat construction



J1me 1965 c. FOURNILLIER BOAT CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb.19, 1963 IN VEN TOR. dn'sfi v fikrnlifr'er Jun 2 1965 c. FOURNILLIERBOAT CONSTRUCT ION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 19, 1963 United StatesPatent 3,191,200 BOAT CONSTRUCTION Christian Fournillier, Chamonix,Haute-Savoic, France (86 Ave. Victor Daibiez, Peppignan,Pyrenees-Orientales, France) Filed Feb. 19, 1963, Ser. No. 259,644Claims priority, application France, Feb. 22, E62, 888,845, Patent1,323,728 3 Claims. (Cl. 9-6) This invention relates to lightweightboats, such as canoes, more particularly of the type used for sport onbeaches, e.g. at summer resorts. Such craft are frequently let out onhire by the hour, and hence have to withstand a great deal of wear andtear and rough usage while still remaining seaworthy.

Objects of this invention are to provide an improved manner ofconstruction for a lightweight decked boat which will be easy andeconomical to carry out with the use of convenient materials such asplastic laminates; to provide such a boat which will be lightweight andsturdy and will retain its seaworthiness for long periods of roughhandling; will remain afloat even when damaged as by puncture of itshull; will have clean lines, streamlined throughout; will have goodnautical characteristics as to speed, absence of yaw even when paddledover the stern, and will be practically uncapsizable and otherwise safe.

Other objects will appear, together with the features of novelty of theinvention, from the ensuing detailed description of an exemplaryembodiment selected for illustration but not limitation and withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective vie-w of a mold for molding the hull portion ofthe improved craft, seen from above;

'FIG. 2 is an overhead perspective view of a mold for molding the deckof the boat;

FIG. 3 is a transverse cross section showing both molds of the previousfigures, with the respective moldings therein;

MG. 4 shows in perspective the hull of the boat on removal from the moldof FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an overhead perspective view of a frame used in providinglongitudinal grooved means on the underside of the deck for assemblingthe deck to the hull;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the hull with the centrallongitudinal web provided therein;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view showing the deck replaced in its moldfor the provision of the groove means serving in the assembly of thedeck with the hull, this figure also showing, in cross section, theframe of FIG, 5 overlying the deck in its mold;

FIG. 8 is a cross section-a1 view of the deck and hull in their finalassembled condition, inverted;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing the two parts of a seatused in the improved boat, also showing the mold sections used inproducing said parts;

FIG. 10 is a perspective side view of the finished boat; and

FIGS. 11 and 12 are partial cross sectional views of conventional boatsof generally similar character, illustrating two of the usual methodsheretofore used for assembling the deck and bull therein.

Referring first to FIG. 10 for a general description, the improved boatconsists of two main parts, a hull 8 and a deck 7 completely coveringthe hull. The hull 8 is of low streamlined profile with a long upwardlycurving bow, while in cross section, as may be seen e.g. from FIG. 6,the hull 8 is generally flat-bottomed, but formed with longitudinalstiffening grooves or corrugations which also serve somewhat thefunction of a keel, minimizing yaw. The deck 7 is flat in transversecross sect-ion, and is formed with transverse stiffening grooves orcorrugations 3,l9i,2b Patented June 29, 1965 "ice which also serve tofacilitate discharge of water as well as providing a better grip for theusers feet when standing upon the deck, and for his hands when climbingaboard from out of the water. Secured to the deck surface amidships is aseat which is in two parts: a ring 21 adapted, when detached, to serveas a lifebuoy, and a bracket 22 serving to secure said ring to the deckand also as a backrest. Projecting from under the bow is a perforatenose member which can be conveniently grasped to pull the boat on andoff shore and from place to place. A recess (not shown) is preferablyformed under the hull stern for a similar end. The manner ofconstructing and assembling the above components will now be described.

The two main parts of the boat, deck 7 and hull 8, are separatelymolded, conveniently from polyester resin laminate, in respective molds.

FIG. 1 shows the mold used in making the hull 8. This mold is seen tocomprise a main mold section 1 in the general form of the hull 8,provided at its fore end with removably attached, e.g. bolted-on, moldportions 2. and 3 serving to mold the afore-mentioned perforate nose orgrasping ring. The bottom 4 of the main mold section 1 is formed withlongitudinal corrugations to impress similar corrugations in the bottomof the hull for the reasons indicated above. FIG. 2 shows the mold usedin making the deck 7, which comprises a mold member 5 formed withtransverse corrugations 6 for the reasons indicated. The cross sectionalshape of the two molds 1 and 5, as well as that of the moldings 7 and 8provided thereby, are best seen in FIG. 3.

The molds thus described may be made from any suitable materials,including wood, metal, and the like, but it is preferred herein to makethem out of polyester laminate.

Any suitable molding technique may be used in producing the polyesterlaminate hull and deck by means of the molds described. Thus, accordingto one suitable procedure, sometimes known as contact molding, the innersurface of the mold is first coated with a suitable moldstripping agent,then the polyester material is applied in successive layers, each layerbeing successively reinforced with suitable filler material, such asfibreglass, as it is laid on. After the suitable number of layers hasbeen applied, the mold is exposed to polymerizing conditions, and afterthe proper time the molded part is removed from the mold. This removingoperation involves, in the case of the hull, dismantling the removablemold sections 2 and 3 as earlier described.

Alternatively, a vacuum molding process may be applled. In this case,there would be provided for each of the two parts, deck and hull, of theboat, a two-part mold, one mold section being of the concaveconfiguratron shown herein, while the other section would be of acomplementary convex shape, means being provided for maintaining the twosections of each mold in accurately spaced relation with the spacingtherebetween corresponding to the desired thickness of the part beingmolded. Filler or reinforcing fabric is applied on the male section, thefemale section is placed over the male section, and resin monomer ispoured into a trough completely surrounding and communicating with thebase of the mold. A vacuum is then applied in the space be tween themold sections by connecting the top of said space with a suitable vacuumpump, and this causes the resin to rise from said trough into the saidspace under the action of the surrounding atmospheric pressure to fillthe space between the mold sections.

A further alternative procedure for molding, using the one-part concavemolds shown in the drawings, is to spray the polyester monomer andfiller material simultaneously into the mold by means of a speciallydesigned spray gun efiective to produce a mixture between saidcomponents at the time of spraying.

These are trimmed'off to provide the final deck and hull members. Thetwo members are assembled by a process which will now be described. Thegeneral idea undep lying this assembly process is to join the two. partsby tral web 12, with the deck member 7 provided with its groovedelements 18 and 24, the grooves of said elements meansof-tongue-and-groove joints extending longitudicraft structure- Thefinished assembly is shown (inverted) in FIG. 8, and it will be seenthat there are two side tongue-and-groove joints each involving, a sideedge of the hull engaging a. groove provided in the corresponding side*of the deck, .and a central tongue-and groove joint involving alongitudinal web projecting from the midline of the deck and engaging agroove provided along the midline of the hull.

The longitudinalweb 12 is lowing manner. A steel strip 9 (see FIG. 4,);is-po'sitioned edgewise along the midline of the hull 8, being retainedthereon by means of longitudinally spaced metal clamps 10, The oppositeside, faces of the steel strip 9 are first coated witha mold strippingagent, then coated with resin monomer which is also spread some distanceover the surface of the hull member 8 on each side of the strip, soas toprovide the two L-shaped elements shown at 11 and 11a in FIG. 6. It willbe noted'from this figure that the afore-mentioned longitudinalcorrugations provided in the hull member are so disposed as, to define acentral valley along the fore-aft midline of the hull member. Afterpolymerization of the monomer and withdrawal of the steel strip 9 andclamps 10, there is thus defined a'longitudinal groove between thespaced vertical wall portions of the molded elements 11 and othersuitable material, and is, inserted a tight fit in the of the deckmember may first be filled with resin monomer reinforced with close-cutfibre glass. The hull member 8 is then'applied so as to force theprojecting sides of the hull into the grooves of the side elements 24 ofthe deck, andthe central Web 12 of the hull into the groove in thecentral element 18. of the deck, under substantial pressure so as toforce some of the resin out of the grooves, and this pressure ismaintained by suitable press means for the, time required to ensurecomplete polymerization;

- The assembled deck and hull. are then separated from i thedeck moldmember 5, and the visible surfaces may :first provided in the follaforesaid groove between the" elements 11-11a, being moreover adhesivelysecured therein by means of polymerizable resin or the like.

t The next step is toiprovide the under surface of the deck member 7with longitudinal grooved means, -in-,

cluding a central grooved, element (such as 18, FIG. 8) for receivingthe free edge of the web 12 of. the hull,

and side grooves (24, FIG. 8) for receiving the free' side edges of thehull member 8. For this purpose there is preferably used a frame or jig(FIG. 5) which is in the .general shape of the deck '7, and includes aperipheral, member 15 extending completely around they by musculareffort.

' as with suitable adhesive, amidships (see FIG. 10).

the upper part of FIG. 7 has a steel strip supported edge-' wise thereinand projecting therefrom normally to the general plane of the frame. Thesaid steel strips correspond.

in thickness to the thickness of the projecting sides of the hull member8, and the thickness of the web, 12, a

respectively. The deck member line of the under surface of thedeckmember. while the side strips engage the inner surfaces of; the sideflanges of said deck member. Resin -'monomer is then applied assemblyisexposed to polymerization, and thereafter:

the frame is removed whilethe deck member may be 7 is placed-in its.mold 5. ;The' frame shown in FIG. 5 is lowered into the deck. mem-g berin the manner shown in FIG. 7, so that-the central,

' strip projecting from frame member 16 engages thefmid be trimmed freeof any excessresim, There has thus been obtained a sturdy, highlywatertight decked boat structure in which the provision of'the centralfore-aft web 12 separating theinner capacity of the boat into twoseparate watertightdcompartments not only improves the strength of theassembly between the deck and hull portionsfof the boat due to theadditional central grooveand-tongue joint provided thereby, but providesa further and valuable safety ,feature sinc'e in the case of the hullbeing punctured or damaged, as by hitting a rock, the chances are thatone of thetwo separate compartments will remain watertight and willserve to keep the craft afloat. I a

If desired, each of ,the'two watertight compartments of the boat may befilled with vsuitable lightweight materials suchflas expanded plastic,polyurethane foam, cork composition, or the like. r '-Referring to FIG.9, the ,seat provided for the boat shown comprises, as previouslymentioned, an. annular member 21, which may .be molded in a simpletwo-part .mold consisting of the two semi-toroidal mold sections Miami20.. The seatfurther includes a backrest and supporting bracket member22, which may be produced,

a backrest for the occupant of the boat, and has its ends shaped toprovide gripping recesses in .which diametri cally opposed areas of thering seat 21 will be gripped under firm pressure due to the resiliencyof the plastic support member 22, while. being removable therefrom- Theflat seat portion of the support member 22 is secured to the uppersurface. of the deck, The annularmember 21 isrnolded from suitablelightweight plastic foam or the like, so as to be buoyant enough toserve as a lifebuoy inan emergency. Should the craft be in danger ofsinking, the occupant can separate the ring member- 2t1-from thesupp0rt'22'by suitable action exerted firs-t on one then on the other ofthe gripping end portions of the support, and don the 'lifebuoy thusmade available. Normally, with the ring seat 21 in place asinFIG. :10,it will be noted that the pressure "of the occupants back willassistein' retaining the seat the novellightdecked boatoftheinventionincludes a' number of advantageous features ofvparticularvalue in connection with the, field of use earlier specified herein,

but also havingbroader applicability. While the said the manner ofassembly of the two parts vof the vboatin allowed to remain in its "moldIt will be understood that the steel strips; of the frame member arecoated with V mold-stripping agent prior to this. molding step.

- To assemble the hull member 8,'provided with its cen accordance withthis invention is considerably more desirable than the types of assemblyheretofore commonly used in boats' of' comparable characten, Thus, inthe conventional type or hull and deck assembly illustrated in FIG. 11,the, deck 27 andhull 28 are provided with outwardly projectingflanges:25'and 26, which are adhesively bonded to assemble the: deck and bullmembers.

Usually the assembled flanges are thereafter coated with a fillet 29 ofplastic or the like so as partly to conceal the unattractive andpotentially dangerous projection. The single flange-to-flange assemblythus provided is considerably less reliable than the multiple groove-andtongue assembly provided according to the invention, the flanges tendingto open apart under stresses and impacts to which the boat is subjectedin use, bringing about a dangerous leaky condition. Moreover, theprojection or fillet completely surrounding the craft interferes withthe clean streamlining thereof, as well as providing an obstacle for aswimmer attempting to clamber on board. Another usual method of assemblyis depicted in FIG. 12. The deck 30 is of substantially larger widththan the hull and has downwardly projecting side flanges 32, which fitover outwardly jutting flanges at the top of the hull 3-1. Thechannel-like recess thus defined is filled with a suitable mastic orcompound as at 32. This again introduces an objectionable projectionaround the hull. Moreover, the water-tightness of the resulting assemblyis particularly unreliable because an inward deformation of the hullwall as indicated in chain lines, and as may be caused by the pressuredeveloped during the application of the mastic filling 32, and byimpacts sustained during the use of the craft, e.g., on collision withanother craft, very easily destroys the seal between the hull and deck.

It will be apparent to those familiar with the art that various changesand modifications may be made in the specific details of embodiment, andsteps of procedure, described and illustrated herein, without exceedingthe scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A decked boat comprising a molded hull member and a molded deckmember, said hull member having side walls projecting towards the deckmember, means on the underside of the deck member defining longitudinalgrooves along the sides thereof, the outer edge portions of said hullwalls being received in said grooves and permanently fixed to the facesdefining the grooves, a web extending between said members on thelongitudinal midplane of the boat, and further means on the underside ofthe deck member and the upper side of the hull member defininglongitudinal grooves along the midlines thereof, opposite edge portionsof said web being respectively received in said longitudinal grooves andpermanently fixed to the faces defining said longitudinal grooves, toprovide a watertight assembly between said members and define twoseparate watertight longitudinal compartments therebetween.

2. In a boat, the provision of a seat assembly for an occupant of theboat, said assembly comprising a buoyant annular member dimensioned toserve as a lifebuoy, and supporting means secured to said boat andhaving upwardly projecting arm portions detachably engageable withspaced areas of said ring member for supporting said ring member in aposition slanting downward from the aft to forward so as to provide astable reclining seat for said occupant when said ring member is engagedwith said arm portions and to provide a lifebuoy when said ring memberis disengaged therefrom.

3. A boat comprising a molded hull having a generally flat,longitudinally corrugated bottom and upstanding side walls, and agenerally flat, transversely corrugated molded deck extending across thetop of said hull to provide an enclosed capacity in said boat, meansdefining longitudinal grooves along the sides of the under surface ofsaid deck, the upper edges of said hull side walls being received insaid grooves and permanently fixed to the faces defining said groovesand sealing said capacity, a longitudinal web extending in said capacityalong the longitudinal midplane of said boat, and means definingadditional grooves along the longitudinal midlines of the under surfaceof said deck and upper surface of said hull, the opposite edges of saidweb being respectively received in said additional grooves andpermanently fixed to the faces thereof to provide two separatewatertight compartments in said capacity.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 802,221 10/05Kuhnen 9-12 2,866,985 1/59 Blackmore 96 2,916,004 12/59 Parr 114-612,965,061 12/60 Bank 11466.5 X 3,092,850 6/63 Klopstock 9-6-5 FERGUS S.MIDDLETON, Primary Examiner.

1. A DECKED BOAT COMPRISING A MOLDED HULL MEMBER AND A MOLDED DECKMEMBER, SAID HULL MEMBER HAVING ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE DECK MEMBERDEFINING LONGITUDINAL GROOVES ALONG THE SIDES THEREOF, THE OUTER EDGEPORTIONS OF SAID HULL WALLS BEING RECEIVED IN SAID GROOVES ANDPERMANENTLY FIXED TO THE FACES DEFINING THE GROOVES, A WEB EXTENDINGBETWEEN SAID MEMBERS ON THE LONGITUDINAL MIDPLANE OF THE BOAT, ANDFURTHER MEANS ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE DECK MEMBER AND THE UPPER SIDE OFTHE HULL MEMBER DEFINING LONGITUDINAL GROOVES ALONG THE MIDLINESTHEREOF, OPPOSITE EDGE PORTIONS OF SAID WEB BEING RESPEC-